Of Toddlers, Chimps and Orangutans

Of Toddlers, Chimps and Orangutans

Chimps and toddlers rely on the “wisdom of the crowd” to sway their decision-making processes, new research published in the journal Current Biology indicates. Orangutans don’t, which could be because they live solitary lives.

The researchers were interested in finding out more about social learning — how one animal picks up behaviors from others rather than learning something by trial and error. This could be anything from tool use to cultural traditions. This social learning is present in many primate species and has been seen throughout the animal kingdom.